RAIL travellers from Pendle are being warned to take care on station platforms this winter.
Some 55 people have been involved in slips, trips or falls at stations across Lancashire and Cumbria in 2011-12. Preston Station is the location for the majority of accidents.
So Network Rail is urging passengers to watch their step in the run-up to Christmas.
A new digital and poster campaign, with CCTV footage, highlights how running for a train with bags of shopping or attempting to carry heavy luggage on an escalator can end up with bruised pride as well as the body, and urges people to take care when travelling by rail over the festive period.
Dyan Crowther, Network Rail’s route managing director, said: “A combination of more people carrying Christmas shopping, trailing wheelie suitcases, wet and windy weather and people travelling late after festive parties, make December a time where we see more people take a tumble.
“We don’t want to see anyone hurt at our stations so we’ll be doing what we can to keep concourses dry and clean and signposting lifts clearly for those with heavy luggage. Please plan ahead so you don’t end up rushing to catch your train - falling over could be a miserable end to an enjoyable evening.”
Nationally, most incidents involved people slipping on the concourse (1,488), falling down stairs (1,120) or on the platform (899) with more than 500 falls on escalators and over 400 people who fell when running. Incidents involving luggage have risen by 70% since 2004/5 with 614 recorded injuries, accounting for a fifth of the total. More than 400 incidents involved a person who was intoxicated.
December 2011 saw 322 incidents, accounting for around 10% of the total.
Fridays were the most common day for a slip, trip or fall to occur with more than a third (1,158) occurring between 5pm and 2-30am!